Nothing Can Change This Love
by EOJuice
Summary: A story about Brian and Olivia's undying for each other
1. Chapter 1

_Honey, nothing, nothing can ever change this love I have for you_

"_I love you."_

"_I love you too, Bri. Always will."_

Those three sentences were all Olivia could think about lately. For the past two weeks, she played that scene over and over again in her head. She thought about Brian constantly. She longed for him more and more each and every day. She would never forget the memories they shared. The one-night-stand in '99. The way Brian would attempt to impress her in the best way he knew how. How even after Brian left, thirteen years later when they met again, it was as if no time had passed between them, but too much time as well. After all that time, they still had feelings for each other. No matter how much they changed or what happened to them in between their long break, they still held a connection.

The last two years Olivia had with Brian brought back bitter-sweet memories. He was always there for her. He stood by her every step of the way after the Lewis incident and during the trial. Maybe not everyone else saw it, but she felt it. Brian had a certain way of doing things and she was okay with that. She understood him; they understood each other. Unfortunately, even with all the understanding, they did not want the same things. It was as if the roles had switched. Brian no longer yearned for starting a family. Now it was Olivia who yearned. She wanted someone to grow old with and start a family with, but Brian on the other hand did not see himself growing old at all. She chuckled at the thought of his sense of humor. He always knew how to ease the mood of a tender moment. That specific tender moment was the last memory she had with him. She smiled as she thought of the way he kissed her forehead before they walked off arm-in-arm. That was the last time she had seen him… And it killed her.

Olivia strolled through the grocery store isles, looking for something to cook for dinner. Things had been light at the precinct lately so she took advantage of the fact that she had a lot more time on her hands to cook and eat a decent meal rather than eating out of the usual, greasy takeout box. She turned the corner with her cart only to crash into another cart. She immediately went to apologize when she realized whose cart she hit. Her heart nearly jumped out of its cavity but she only let a small smile crack. Trying to play it cool, she said, "Of all the asses who don't know how to control their cart, I run into you." Brian chuckled at the on-running "ass" joke Olivia loved to play on him. Even after all that had happened, she still felt comfortable with him.

"Hey, did you ever think about calling me, oh, I don't know, _Brian_? 'Hey, Ass,' isn't exactly the ideal greeting."

"No. I think 'Ass' is the perfect greeting. It suits you."

"Ha. Ha. You think you're so funny. Well, how've you been? I haven't seen or heard from you since… You know.

Olivia smiled tightly and let out a small forced laugh.

"Yeah. I know. But, I've been good. Fine. And you?"

"Good, good."

"That's… Good." She stifled out another small, forced laugh.

"Yeah… Oh. Well, how's that baby? You know, the one baby?" He shifted awkwardly.

"You mean Noah? Yeah. He's great. Actually, he's mine now. Well, for the time being. They awarded me custody of him for a year. If no one wants him after the year is up, I have the option to adopt him."

Olivia spoke with a smile in her voice and happiness in her eyes. Noah was the best thing that could have happened to her given the year's events. He was exactly what she needed.

"Wow. That's great, Liv. I'm happy for you. I really am."

"Thanks, Bri. Me too."

"Well, where is he?"

"Oh. He's at home with the babysitter. I just got off work before coming here."

"Ah. I see."

"Yeah…"

The awkwardness lingered. She began to open her mouth when an elderly woman interrupted. The woman slowly lifted a shaky head to look at them and said, "Excuse me. Would two love birds be so kind as to let me by?" Brian and Olivia's eyes both flew open at the words "love birds." They apologized and let the woman through. Olivia awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair.

"Well, I guess I better going now."

"Yeah. It was nice seeing you, Liv."

"You too, Bri. You too."

Once again, Olivia had let the man she loved walk away.

Two hours later, Olivia stood in front of the kitchen sink, washing the dishes from her and Noah's mess. Instead of using the groceries she bought to cook something, she ended up playing with Noah and sharing his Cheerios. She dried the dishes and put them away. She went to check on Noah and surprisingly, her sweet boy was sound asleep. Taking advantage of the peace and quiet, she made her way over to the couch and got ready to settle into a nice book when she heard her phone ding. She picked up her phone and her heart jumped out of its cavity for the second time that night; it was Brian.

_Hey, Liv. It's Brian. It was great running into you this evening. I was thinking, do you wanna meet up somewhere tomorrow so we can catch up?_

Olivia's heart fluttered at the thought going out with Brian. Even if it was just a casual outing. She waited a few minutes so she didn't seem too eager.

_Yeah. That would be nice. When and where do you want to meet?_

Not even leaving a beat in between, Brian replied.

_How about Central Park? 1:00?_

_Sounds great. I'll see you then. _

The next day, Olivia got dressed with a smile on her face and a thrilling sensation in her heart. She put on her slightly distressed jeans, her loose-fitted, grey sweatshirt, tied her hair back in a half ponytail, and put on a dab of mascara. Not only was it perfect for a crisp, fall day, but it was also the way Brian loved to see her; casual and relaxed.

Olivia and Brian met at their usual bench. He greeted her with a hug and what seemed to be a slight peck on her temple. They traced around the park for what seemed like a lifetime but at the same time, it only felt like ten minutes had gone by. They talked and talked about what had happened in their lives since the breakup. She laughed at his jokes and he smiled at her comebacks. It was almost as if no time had passed between them. Suddenly, Brian stopped and turned to face her. "Aren't getting tired of going around in circles?"

Olivia tilted her head in confusion. Her heart raced. Was he talking about their relationship? Or something else? Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she let a moment to pass to allow Brian to clarify himself.

"I mean, we've been walking around this damn park for what seems like a millennium. You wanna go somewhere else?

Olivia's felt a sense of relief but also a slight sense of disappointment. She cracked a smile and let out a small laugh.

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Where to?"

"Well, it is Sunday. How about the museum?"

Olivia's heart warmed. He remembered. "Yeah. Let's go."

Brian and Olivia had spent all day together and Olivia loved every moment of it. The connection between them was still strong. Brian lightly cracked jokes on all the art work at the museum. He would always be an ass. He would always be _her_ ass, even if she was the only one that knew it and felt that way. They went out to dinner and reminisced on old times and talked more about the new memories each of them had been making over the past few months. It was like being on one of their usual dates again minus the hand holding across the table and the kissing. They even dabbled in a small game of Footsy while they waited for their food. Olivia felt her heart melt more and more as the evening went on. Unfortunately, the evening was almost over. Brian brought Olivia back home around 10:00 and they stood in front of Olivia's open doorway, with Olivia on the inside and Brian on the outside.

"I had a great time with you today, Liv."

"Same with you, Bri. Thanks for showing me a great time. We should do it again someday."

"Yeah, yeah. That would be nice."

"Great."

Brian peered past Olivia's shoulder. Olivia turned to see what he was looking at. She never cleaned up her and Noah's playtime mess. She was too happy this morning to even think about it. She heard Brian give out a small laugh behind her.

"Cute. Where is the little guy anyways?"

"Oh. The sitter couldn't make it today because I called her on such short notice. I called around and Fin offered to take him for the night so he's over there."

Brian let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Fin? With a baby?"

"I know, I know. But Noah likes him. And I think Fin likes him too. He just won't admit it. They get along nicely."

"Yeah. Whatever you say, Liv. I'll believe when I see it."

A small, slightly awkward beat passed between them. Brian nervously ran his hands through his hair.

"Well, I guess I better get going then. Night, Liv."

"Goodnight, Brian."

With that, Brian leaned in to give Olivia a small peck on the cheek and Olivia kissed him back. Then, he moved from her cheek to her lips. It took Olivia by surprise. At first she did not know what to do, but then she gave in. All of the day's pent up passion had burst open with that kiss. The passion flowed through their bodies as they fiercely latched on to each other's lips and held on tightly to each other's faces. Just before things got too heated, Brian released his mouth's hold from Olivia's. They looked endlessly into each other's eyes. Both of them questioning "What now?" through a small tilt in their heads and the gleaming emotions from their pupils. Brian took a deep breath.

"Well, I really should be going now. I'll see you later, Liv." With that, he took a sharp turn on his heel and quickly walked down the hall.

Olivia couldn't even muster up a "goodbye." She was too stunned. Too shocked. Too breathless. She traced her lips with her ring finger, longing for another kiss. She slowly shut the door. She stood with her back against the door, staring into nothing. She then let out a small, heart-broken sigh as one lone tear shed from her eye. She slid down onto the floor. Her knees were crouched into her body and she buried her face into her palms. The one person she's always wanted had walked away from her again, and all she could do was weep.


	2. Chapter 2

_If I go, a million miles away_

_I'd write a letter, each and everyday_

_._

*ding*…*ding*…*ding*

Olivia's phone had dinged for the umpteenth time that day and the millionth time that week. It had been two weeks since Brian and Olivia shared the kiss that brought back all of the feelings she had been trying to push back. For the past ten days, Brian had been blowing up Olivia's phone nonstop. She considered putting it on silent but she needed the sound on in case there was an emergency at work. The only bright side to the ongoing sound was that Noah loved the ding her phone produced whenever she received a text. Every time her phone made that familiar chime, he would laugh his precious, baby laugh with a delirious smile on his face. As long as Noah was happy, Olivia didn't care.

Olivia had spent all day playing with Noah. Noah started to fuss when she realized it was almost 11:00 o'clock at night. She laid him down to sleep and kissed him goodnight. As she got ready to run a much needed shower, she heard a knock on her door. She rolled her eyes at the thought of who could possibly need to bother her at this time of the night. She dragged her feet over to the door and looked in the peep-hole; it was Brian. Her breath caught in her throat and her mind raced at a million miles a minute. She thought to herself, _What do I do? How did he get up here? _Brian knocked on the door again, startling Olivia out of her thoughts.

"Liv, open up. I know you're in there. I can see the light through the door."

She cursed herself and quickly opened the door, making a shushing motion while pointing towards Noah's bedroom. Brian put up his hands in apology and smiled sheepishly.

"Can I come in?"

"Well, you're already up here and I have a feeling you won't take no for an answer so sure. How the hell did you even get up here?"

"One of your neighbors let me in. I thought you wouldn't let me up so I bugged them instead."

"Cassidy and his sly ways. Of course."

Brian let out an awkward, knowing laugh. They made their way over to the couch. The distance in which they sat from each other was almost foreign. Two people who were once so close were now so far away. Brian shifted his weight awkwardly.

"Look, Liv. We need to talk. Why haven't you been responding to my messages? I've been texting you for days."

Olivia nervously shifted her eyes around the room.

"Um, I haven't gotten any-"

Brian cut her short. "Liv, don't even try to lie and say you haven't seen them. You might want to turn your read script off before you do that."

A small, awkward sound escaped from Olivia's throat. She really needed to learn how utilize technology to its fullest extent. Her eyes fiercely wandered around the room as she wished there was some way she could escape this tremendously awkward situation. Brian let out a slightly impatient sigh.

"Liv, look at me."

Olivia slowly moved her eyes to look in Brian's direction and lifted her head up towards him. Brian scooched closer to her and took her hands into his.

"Olivia, I know you must be pretty confused about what happened the other week. Believe me, I am too. But I had all this time to think and I... I…"

"You what, Bri?"

"I think… I think that maybe we should try to make us work again. Since that night, all I can think about is us and what we used to have, and well, I think I want that again. No, scratch that. I don't think. I _know_. I know I said that I didn't want to start a family or anything but after being away from you all that time, I've changed my mind. I _do _want to start a family and grow old with someone. And I want that someone to be you, Olivia."

Olivia couldn't believe what she had just heard. She stared, shocked at Brian with her mouth slight agape. She could only muster a small croak. Brian stared anxiously at Olivia as he slightly squeezed Olivia's hand in anticipation. Then a sharp cry broke through the silence. Noah had a tendency to always wake up at least once during the night. Brian quickly release Olivia's hand and they stared at each other, in alert.

"You should prob-"

"I'll go ge-"

Olivia quickly rose from the couch and rushed to Noah. She gave Noah and his usually inconvenient cries a mental thanks for saving her from the situation at hand.

At least thirty minutes had passed by before Olivia could get Noah back to sleep. She silently prayed that Brian had given up and left. She tip-toed out of Noah's room and peered her head around the corner; Brian was in the same position on the couch, where she had left him. He sensed her presence and turned his head in her direction. Olivia felt her heart tug and she could not help but to give a little smile at the anxious but tired expression plastered upon Brian's face. She slowly made her way over to the couch and could see Brian's body tense more and more with each step she took. She was surprised his face had not turned blue by the time she sat down with the way he was holding his breath.

"Bri?"

"Yeah?"

"Breathe."

Brian let out a small chuckle as he exhaled a shaky breath. He nervously rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. Olivia took his hand in hers and once again, his breath caught in his throat. Olivia gave him a sympathetic look of plea as she slightly raised her eyebrows and gave a small, close-lipped smile. He let out another shaky breath and continued to inhale and exhale small, anxious breaths. Olivia inched closer to Brian until their knees barely grazed one another.

"Brian, I know it took a lot of courage for you to come up and talk to me. I know spilling your heart out like that isn't exactly the easiest for you because it's not easy for me either. And I love you for that. I love you, Brian. And I always will…"

They both felt a twinge in their heart at the all too familiar words.

Olivia continued.

"You're amazing in every way that you are, Bri. You really and truly are. I know that you'll always be there for me and I thank you immensely for that. But I just don't know if I'm ready to start something up again with you, Brian."

Brian loosened the grip on Olivia's hand and let his head fall. He had never felt more defeated. Olivia countered his actions as she tightly squeezed his hand. He lifted his head to meet her gaze. She tilted her head and gave him a hopeful smile with a glimmer in her soft, brown eyes.

"But…"

Brian's heart began to race.

"But what, Liv?"

"But… I'm willing to try it again. I've missed you so much over these last few weeks and I can't risk losing you again. You mean too much for me to just let you go like that. So, yes. Yes. Yes, I will grow old with you."

Happiness immediately took over Brian's entire body. He started to laugh nearly in hysterics, as if he were going to cry. Olivia smiled but quickly shushed him, pointing to Noah's room. Brian contained his laughter but still held a wide, ecstatic grin. He cupped Olivia's face in his hands and pecked her nose. Then her lips. Then her temple. Then her nose again.

"Thank you, Olivia. Thank you so much."

He was nearly screaming his overzealous whispers.

Olivia shook her head, smiling and took Brian's hands from her face and placed their tangled hangs in her lap.

"You don't have to thank me. I want you. We both want this."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. And another kiss. And another. With each kiss, both of their smiles grew and soon they were laughing into each other's mouths with delirium. They fell back into the couch, with Olivia on top of Brian. Brian was practically panting, letting go of each anxious worry in every breath. Olivia giggled.

"Bri, breathe again."

Brian chuckled and shook his head.

"Sorry, Liv. I'm just so happy."

"I can see that. But if you want this to work, you need to start breathing regularly. I need you to be alive."

Brian took deep breaths and finally gained control of his emotions. He gazed into Olivia's eyes and pushed her hair behind her ear. Olivia climbed off of him so he could lay horizontal against the back of the couch. She crawled in next to him and formed her body perfectly into the curvatures of his. Brian wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly, but ever so gently as if she were a balloon that he never wanted to float away. He took in her scent and relaxed. It was almost surreal to have her back in his arms. He kissed the back of her head.

"Liv?"

"Yeah, Bri?"

"I love you, too."


	3. Chapter 3

_Make me weep_

_And you can make me cry_

_See me coming_

_And you can pass me by_

.

Olivia and Brian lay in bed together, asleep, with Olivia's head resting on his shoulder and her arms wrapped around his bare torso. After a long night of sheet tousling, they finally grew tired and now rest peacefully. It had been three weeks since the two started their relationship again and things were going great. Although Brian had not officially given up his apartment, he had practically moved in with Olivia. He spent almost every day of the week at her apartment, from the time he got off work to the time he had to go back again. Olivia couldn't have been happier to have the man she loved back in her life. He was the icing on the cake to her precious Noah. While Brian still needed to adjust to having a baby around the apartment, he made small attempts here and there to bond with Noah. He enjoyed playing with the baby and feeding him, and he occasionally attempted to help change his diaper (with Olivia's help of course). Seeing the fatherly side of Brian made Olivia's love for him grow even more. It was like having the family she always wanted.

The two were abruptly awoken from their slumber as sharp cries pierced through the baby monitor. They slowly stirred within the sheets as they both were slightly disoriented from their deep sleep and rude awakening. Olivia groaned and could barely manage to open her eyes. Deciding now was the perfect the time to take advantage that Brian was here with her, she gave him a small nudge.

"Bri, could you get the baby?"

"What?"

"Noah. Could you please get Noah?"

"What? I-"

"Just get him for me, please, will you? It'll be fine. You'll do fine."

Olivia waited for a response and heard nothing but silence. She knew Brian was nervous about handling the baby but she also knew he needed to learn how to care for him sooner or later. Thinking of the best way to manipulate Brian out of bed, she kissed him on the curve of his neck and whispered, "I'll make you breakfast in the morning… Naked." Brian let out a sigh that was a mixture between sexual anticipation and reluctance. But he gave in and rose out of bed, grabbed his boxers, and headed towards Noah's room. Olivia shook her head with a disbelieving smile. It was amazing but also sad how you could get a man out of bed by telling him you'll get _into _bed with him.

Nearly forty-five minutes had passed and Brian still had not managed to calm down Noah. Olivia had heard all of his efforts through the baby monitor and could hear him struggling to put Noah back to sleep. Deciding she should help, she threw the covers off her body and slipped into Brian's t-shirt. As soon as she walked into Noah's room, she could feel Brian's stress. When he heard Olivia step into the room, he gave her a pleading look, screaming "Help me," with his eyes. Olivia quickly made her way over to aid her stressed boyfriend. Brian attempted to hand the baby off to Olivia but she waved her finger in a "no" motion. Brian furrowed his brows to ask "Why?" Olivia then made her way to position herself behind Brian and wrapped her arms around him and repositioned his arms.

"Hold him like this. Position his head right here in your arm. Now, rock him like this."

Together, the couple swayed back and forth while simultaneously rocking and shushing Noah. After a short while, Olivia released her hold from Brian. As she made her way to present herself in front of Brian, she studied how he made every effort not to change his positon. Sure enough, Noah had already started to cease his cries. Olivia smiled at Brian and granted him with a thumbs up. She then signaled that she was going to head back to the bedroom. Brian vigorously shook his head "no" while still managing to hold his positon. Olivia offered him a reassuring look and mouthed "It's okay," and walked out of the room before Brian had the chance to pull her back.

Olivia sat up in bed, waiting for Brian. She felt a small pang of guilt for abandoning him with Noah, but she knew that if they were going to make their third-time-around relationship long-lasting, he would need to learn how to care for the baby by himself. Finally, she heard Brian's tired footsteps shuffling towards the room. As he settled into bed, Olivia nuzzled her head onto his torso.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For helping with the baby."

"What are you talking about? I wasn't even that much help. You had to come in there and practically rescue me."

"No, that's not true. You just needed a little help. After I left, Noah had already started to calm down. You did great."

"No, I di-"

Olivia interrupted Brian by placing her pointer finger on his lips.

"_Yes_, you _did_. You really did, Bri."

"You really think so?"

"I do. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Liv."

Brian kissed the top of Olivia's forehead and the couple dozed off to sleep.

….

Brian stirred in his near awaken state, as the mid-morning sun gleamed through the curtains. He stretched his arm out to grab a hold of Olivia, but instead, his arm landed straight on the mattress. He opened his eyes only to see that his girlfriend was nowhere to be seen. He frowned at the empty space as he pondered where Olivia might be. He then sat up and sniffed the air. Was that… bacon? He removed the covers from his body and hopped out of bed to make his way to the kitchen. As he entered, he found Olivia in one of his button down shirts, cooking bacon and eggs, and Noah sitting in his high chair, playing with his Cheerios. He smiled at the happy infant, but then averted his attention to Olivia's long, tan legs.

"Wow. Words can't even explain how beautiful you look right now."

Olivia jumped at the sound of Brian's voice and nearly threw the eggs onto the floor with the spatula. She placed her hand on her heart and gave her boyfriend a panicked look. She then relaxed and gave him a coy smile as she pointed the spatula towards him.

"Ya know, Bri? You can't just sneak up on me like that. You just almost lost your breakfast."

Brian made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he kissed her.

"That's okay. I can think of other things to eat."

"Oh, can you now?"

"Mhm… Hey, why aren't you naked like you promised?"

"Sorry, Baby. One, Noah was ready to come out and play and I didn't feel comfortable handling and feeding a baby while ass-naked. Two, I was afraid the bacon grease would pop and scald my bare body. I don't know about you, but I prefer to keep my skin intact."

"No worries," he said as he nibbled on her neck. "I can just undress you later."

"Mhm. Yeah. After breakfast. Go sit so I can finish your food."

Brian brought his fingers to his forehead and saluted Olivia. "Ay, ay, Capt'n."

Olivia shook her head and laughed. "You fool."

Brian simply replied back with a wide, childish grin.

….

Olivia had finished cooking breakfast and was now taking Noah out of his high chair to settle him down for a nap. She turned around to head towards his bedroom just in time to see Brian stuff two strips of bacon in mouth.

"Hey, Liv. Look at me. I'm a bacon walrus!"

Olivia gave Brian a blank, but slightly squinted stare for a few moments, but couldn't resist to give a small laugh.

"Bri, stop playing with your food and eat. If I didn't know any better, I'd think _you _were the baby in this house."

She then made her way to Noah's room and settled him into his crib. She smiled at the cooing baby and pet his soft hair. Whispering to him, she said "Can you believe I actually want to make that silly man your father? Neither can I. But I sure do love him. And I know you will too." She then bent down to kiss his forehead and whispered "Sleep tight, sweet boy," as she left the room.

She came back to the kitchen and found Brian at the sink, washing the dishes. She made her way over to his side and rested her head on his strong shoulder.

"What are doing?"

"Well, you made me breakfast so I figured it was only fair that I clean up the mess that only happened because of me."

"How sweet."

He kissed her forehead. "I know."

"Wow. How modest of you."

Brian dried his hands on the towel and then tugged at one of the buttons on Olivia's shirt. "How modest of _you_."

Olivia titled her head and gave Brian one of her enticing eyebrow raises. "Maybe you should make me _im_modest."

"Oh, I can definitely do that."

He proceeded to unbutton the rest of her shirt as he kissed her neck. He then made his way up to her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. While still consumed in their passionate kiss, Brian lifted Olivia up and placed her on the kitchen counter. Olivia ran her hands through Brian's hair as he made his way down to pay some homage to her collar bones. He smiled into the kisses as he heard her soft moans of pleasure. He traveled down to the middle of her breasts just as her phone began to ring. They both rolled their eyes at the interruption as Brian moved to allow Olivia to get off the counter. Olivia picked up her phone and gave a puzzled look; it was Judge Linden. She swiped to answer.

"Hello… What… Why… Okay, Okay. I'm on my way now."

Olivia threw off her already half taken-off shirt and headed towards the bedroom. Brian followed.

"Liv, what's up?"

She was quickly searching through the closet for something appropriate to meet the judge in.

"I don't know. Judge Linden called and basically told me to haul my ass over there."

"She didn't say why?"

Olivia was now throwing on the navy blue pantsuit she found.

"Nope. She just said to get over there… Oh, Bri. I need you to watch Noah."

She now hurriedly made her way into living area to grab her keys. Brian quickly followed.

"What? Liv, I don't know if I ca-"

"Bri, please? You're already here and I don't want to have to call the sitter. Come on. You'll be fine. He's a good boy."

"Well, I guess if you really need me to…"

"I do. Thank you. Thank you so much. You'll do just fine. I love you."

She gave Brian a quick peck and within seconds, she was out the door.

….

Olivia entered the apartment door hours later to find nearly all of Noah's toys sprawled all over the floor and Brian rocking the fussy baby. They were both a mess. Brian gave a tense but all too relieved smile when he saw Olivia enter the door.

"Liv, thank god you're home. I can't get him to calm down. I tried everything. Feeding him, burping him, changing him, playing with him... Not even that rocking technique you taught me worked."

Olivia took the boy from Brian's arms and began to rock him.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're okay."

Noah had already started to calm down. Brian looked at Olivia in amazement.

"How do you do that? He'd been crying for nearly forty minutes and I couldn't get him to calm down, not one bit."

"Ah, I'm sure he just wanted me. There's nothing you can really do about that. You know how babies can be. Don't worry. Soon enough, he'll be crying for you too."

"I'm not so sure about that… Well, what did the judge want? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything is fine. Perfect."

Brian noticed the wide grin on Olivia's face.

"Liv, what are you smiling so hard at?"

Her eyes began to well up with tears as she started to open her mouth. Brian embraced her, not knowing what else to do.

"Liv, what happened? Why are you crying? I thought everything was good."

"It is…"She took a moment to catch her breath. "I.. Bri… No- Noah is officially my son. I'm officially his mother."

Wha- What? How? I mean, that's great but how? I thought you needed to wait a whole year."

"I know, I know. But I guess some things fell through and they pulled some strings. So after a few hours, they got everything in order and I was able to adopt him. Can you believe it?"

Brian kissed her on the forehead. "Liv, that's fantastic. I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you. I just can't believe it's finally happening. I'm finally a mother… Oh my god. Bri, we're actually going to be a family. Me, a mother. You, a father. Together. With _our _baby."

"A father… I'm a father… Oh my god. I'm a father."

Olivia was over zealously cooing over the baby.

"You hear that, Noah? I'm your mama. And you're my son. My sweet, little baby boy. And that's your daddy."

Noah stared blankly at his new mother, not understanding the situation. He slowly bat his long eyelashes and gave in to his infant sleep. Olivia simply smiled and ran her finger over his soft cheek.

"I'll go put him down. I'll be right back."

Brian made his way to the couch to wait for Olivia's return. She came back within moments and plopped down on the couch, next to Brian and rested her head on his shoulder. He reciprocated by wrapping his arm around her.

"Bri, I can't believe this is happening."

"I know. Neither can I."

"A mother. A mom. My dream is actually coming true. I'm a mom."

"I know, I know."

"And you. A dad. You're going to be his father."

"Yeah…"

Olivia sat up from her position on Brian's shoulder and gave him a concerned look.

"What's the matter, Bri? Aren't you happy?"

"Liv, I don't…"

"What is it?"

"I don't… I don't know if I can do this. I don't think I'm ready for all of this."

Olivia's face broke.

"What? I thought you said… You said you were ready."

"I know. I know what I said. It's just… I just… I just thought things were going to move a lot slower. I was fine with where we were. But now Noah is officially yours and you're telling me I'm going to be his father. I thought I was going to have more time to adjust."

"Bri, what ar- What are you saying?"

"I- I- I don't think I can do this. I'm sorry Olivia. I'm just not ready."

"But you-"

"I know, Olivia. I know. But I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry but I have to go. This isn't what I want. Not right now. "

Brian quickly sat up from the couch and made his way towards the door. Olivia followed.

"Brian, wait. I thought we were going to make us last. What happened to that? What happened to us?"

"Olivia, I just can't. I'm not ready to be a father. I'm sorry. Goodbye, Olivia."

With that, he headed out the door and shut it behind him. Once again, Brian had left Olivia behind. She felt defeated beyond defeated. She was on such a high from the adoption and now everything had come crashing down. She would never win. She would never have complete happiness without something going wrong. This heart wrenching pain was all too familiar. She couldn't bear to stand anymore. She slowly made her way to her bedroom that was only made for one once again. She gently lay herself down onto the bed, with no attempt to move the comforter or the clothes sprawled on the bed. For what felt like the millionth time in her life, she cried herself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_You're the apple of my eye, you're cherry pie_

_You're cake and ice cream_

_You're sugar and spice, and everything nice_

_You're the girl of my dreams_

_.._

Brian sat in front of the television on his living room couch, watching the basketball game. He had no idea who was playing for his mind was off somewhere else. As he absentmindedly reached for his third (or was it his fourth?) beer, he thought of the devastated look on Olivia's face as he told her goodbye for the last time. It had been three days since he had left her. That last glance at her glossy eyes shattered his heart. He couldn't bear the way her voice had heightened and trembled as she pleaded for him to stay. Everything was moving so fast, he just had to get out. He never did learn how to handle a situation at hand. When things got shaky, he had always just left. It was his coping mechanism; even if it did hurt the ones he loved. _Love_, Brian thought. _You love her. Why did_… No. He couldn't think about that. He shook his head as if the act would clear his head like an Etch-A-Sketch.

He reverted his attention back to the television, trying to focus on anything but Olivia. Just as his eyes focused on the screen, the game had cut to a commercial – a Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo commercial. Images of Noah immediately filled brain. Just by thinking about him, Brian could the baby's laugh. He thought about how he would place Noah on his lap and play Popcorn Machine with him. He thought about the day he tried sharing his Spaghetti-O's with Noah and how they had made a huge mess. The look on Olivia's face when she walked in on them was priceless. He could tell she wanted to be angry, but all she could do was laugh at the scene before her… Her laugh. It was the most beautiful sound he had heard in all his life… _No, not again. I can't think about her_. He shook his head again. The television obviously wasn't helping with his unwanted thoughts. He searched for the remote and found it under the bag of potato chips on the coffee table. He quickly pressed the power button and tilted his head back until it rested on top of the couch cushions. He brought his hand to his face to press his thumb and pointer finger on the bridge of his nose. He had to think of something to keep him distracted… Ah-ha! His mother; he would call his mother. She always had something to ramble on about. She would certainly help get his mind off of Olivia.

He reached for his cellphone on the coffee table and quickly dialed his mother's number. The receiving end rang twice before he heard his mother's sweet voice. It was like she knew.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ma."

"Brian? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Ma. It's me. Didn't you know before you picked up the phone?"

"Brian, you should know the answer to that. You know this old thing doesn't have… What do you call it? Phone Identity?"

Brian chuckled. His mother always knew how to cheer him up, even if she wasn't aware of it.

"No, Ma. It's called Caller I.D."

He could picture her now, sitting on the couch in the living room, with the old rotary dial in her hand. No matter how much technology changed, she was never one to throw something away if it wasn't broken.

"Yeah, yeah. Same difference. Well, how is my sweet boy? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just called to say hello and check in on you."

"Great. I'm doing great. Ya know, I just got off the phone with your Aunt Barbara not too long ago. Know what she told me?"

"No. What?"

"Your cousin, Lance, is getting married! Can you believe it? Never did I think I would live to see the day that that would happen… Speaking of marriage, is Olivia with you? I wanna ask her something."

Brian never told his mother about (the second) breakup.

"Uh, no. She's not."

"Oh. Well, that's okay. I'll just ask her another time. I'm so glad you two are back together. She's my favorite of all the girls you've ever brought home, you know? You two are still coming over for dinner on Saturday, right?"

Brian let out a sigh as he rubbed his hand, up and down, on the back of his head.

"Uh, listen, Ma-"

"Oh, Sweetie, somebody's at the door. I gotta go, okay? I'll see you Saturday! Love you. Bye."

The line went dead.

_Well that helped a shit load_, Brian thought. He had to find another way to forget about Olivia. He sat with his head against the top of the cushions and closed his eyes, thinking. _What do people when they need to get their mind off something… Ah-ha! People run. That's what they do_.

He opened his eyes to look out the window. It was sunny with a few clouds spread out here and there. Perfect. He quickly rose up from the couch and made his way to the bedroom. He opened the dresser drawer to search for something to run in. As he rummaged through his array of clothes, his hand stumbled upon a box. Two boxes actually; one blue, cardboard with a white ribbon and a much smaller, purple, velvet one with a red ribbon. He picked the boxes up from the drawer and made his way over to sit down on the bed as he remembered what each box contained and who they were for.

He purchased the items about a week ago. He remembers it like it was yesterday. For whatever miraculous reason, Tucker let Brian go early that day. Rather than immediately go straight to Olivia's, however, he decided to do a little shopping. As soon as he entered the store, he saw the necklace. A simple, silver, heart-shaped necklace. As simple as it was, it had a sparkle to it that immediately caught his eye. He knew it was the necklace he wanted to buy for Olivia, but something was missing. It needed something a little more special; it needed to be engraved. He asked the lady at the jewelry counter if they could engrave the necklace for him and she said it would be no problem. When she asked what he wanted the necklace to say, he simply smiled and replied, "Always."

As he waited for the jewelers to finish engraving the necklace, he decided he should do some shopping for Noah, as well. This gift took a little longer to find considering he still wasn't adept in the baby world. He had no idea there were so many size options for babies. With the help of a sales clerk, however, he finally found the perfect gift for Noah; a white onsie with sharks of different shades of blue and green. When Olivia and Noah's gifts were finally wrapped and in order, he left the store with a wide and prideful grin on his face.

Now, he stood, staring at the boxes. He planned on giving Olivia and Noah their gifts after their dinner with his mother. What was he supposed to do with them now? He couldn't believe he was even thinking about this because that meant Olivia wasn't part of his life anymore. He had let her go. He left her. Again. He left the woman of his dreams and never looked back. He couldn't even wrap his mind around how devastated the woman he loved looked as he walked out the door… No, not loved. Loves. Present tense. He still loves her.

Brian smacked his hand on his forehead as his eyes shot open in realization. "Fuck," he nearly shouted. "What the hell did I do?" He jumped up from the bed, with the boxes still in his hand and headed towards the door. He couldn't leave Olivia again. Not like this. He was going to get her back for the last and final time.


	5. Chapter 5

_But if you wanted, to leave me and roam_

_When you got back, I'd just say welcome home_

'_Cause, Honey, nothing, nothing, nothing can change this love I have for you_

..

Olivia sat on the floor, playing with Noah. She picked up the obnoxiously blue shark that lay beside her and made it "swim" towards the baby. Ever since he watched an episode from _Shark Week_ with Brian, he screamed with joy any time he saw a shark. She remembered how when she walked on in the scene, she had scolded Brian for exposing the baby to such violent television. All Brian did was laugh and tell Olivia to "chill out." As she continued to scold him, Brian finally put his hands up in surrender and promised to never expose Noah to anything other than _Sesame Street_. The thought made Olivia wince a little, but she was soon brought out of her bad memories when Noah started to clap with delight. Olivia smiled at her son. "You like these things, don't ya, little guy? Do I have a future marine biologist on my hands? I can already tell you're going to be an A+ student."

Olivia looked at her watch and it was almost 8:00pm. She put the shark down as she stood up to pick Noah up from the ground. "It looks like time for you to go to bed, Mister. Let's go get you changed in to some nice, comfy jammies." Before she even lifted her foot to take a step, Noah started to fuss as he reached his hands down toward the ground. Olivia peered over her shoulder to see what his failing grasped aimed at. Of course it was the stuffed shark. Olivia bent down to pick the toy up from the ground and gave it to Noah. As soon as the plush material of the stuffed toy brushed over his hands, he immediately calmed down. Olivia kissed the top of his head and smiled. "What are we going to do about this little shark fascination you have? Sleeping with sharks doesn't like sound like a very idea." She laughed at her own corny mom joke as she made her way to Noah's bedroom. Just as she neared the threshold between the living him and his room, she heard a knock on the door. "Sounds like we have some company, Noah. Who could it be?" She turned around and headed for the door. She froze when looked through the peephole and saw Brian. She quickly brought herself back together before unlocking the door and opening it. She eyed the bag he held in his hand but opted not to mention it. She raised an eyebrow when she thought about how he managed to get into the building.

"Did you bug my neighbors again?"

Brian gave a sheepish yet cocky grin.

"Yeah. Can I come in?"

Before Olivia even had the chance to give a response, Noah extended his free arm towards Brian as he struggled to get closer to him. Olivia shook her head in disbelief as she motioned for Brian to enter and handed Noah to him.

"Well, I can't say no to that, can I? I guess he missed you."

Brian, smiled at the happy infant.

"Yeah, I guess so. Hey, little man. Did ya miss me? I missed you, too. I got ya somethin'."

Brian handed Noah back to Olivia so he could reach into the bag. Noah screamed with joy as soon as Brian pulled out the shark-plastered onsie. He pulled the onsie off of its hanger and handed it to Noah. He now held his stuffed shark in one hand and his new onsie in the other. Olivia raised Brian a suspicious eyebrow.

"Bri, you didn't have come bearing gifts just t-"

"I didn't, Olivia. I already had it. I bought it last week."

"Oh…"

"Yeah. Which is why I'm here. Listen, Liv, I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I walked out of here the other night. I was just so scared and everything was happening so fast, I didn't know what else to do."

Olivia scoffed as she shifted Noah to her other hip.

"Yeah, well I can think of a lot more things to do other than walk out on me."

Brian chewed the inside of his cheek as he searched for words.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia. I didn't mean to hurt you. That wasn't my intention at all. You know you mean the world to me. I could never hurt you like that on purpose. I've spent these past three days thinking about you and Noah. I finally have what I want and I'm not going to just throw it all away. I know walking out on you wasn't the best decision, but I've had some time to think. I'm ready now. I want it to work."

Olivia turned her head away as she attempted to continue to be furious with Brian.

"Brian, I ju-"

Brian took hold of Olivia's free hand and squeezed it.

"Olivia, look at me."

Olivia heard a catch in Brian's voice and turned her head to see a tear threatening to spill from his eye. Brian squeezed her hand even tighter.

"Olivia, I know I screwed up by leaving, but if you let me come back, I promise I'm not going anywhere. I want you. I this. I want us… I want us, you, me, and Noah, as a- a family."

Olivia chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds before a tear rolled down her cheek. The intensity of Brian's emotions left her speechless. She had never seen him cry; not even after the shooting. She wanted to speak, but she couldn't release the hold on her bottom lip. Instead, she gave Brian's hand a tight squeeze and slowly nodded her head. Brian raised his eyebrows and gave a smile small.

"Yeah," he asked in a low whisper.

"Yeah," she softly replied.

Brian raised Olivia's hand to his lips and gave it a tender peck. He whispered his thanks and Olivia nodded as he made his way to kiss her forehead. Noah interrupted the tender moment with one of his small giggles. Olivia looked at the baby and smiled. "You hear that, Noah? We're a family now. You, me, and Daddy." Olivia looked up at Brian with soft eyes and smiled. Brian reciprocated by giving her a soft peck on the lips.

"I love you, Liv."

"I love you, too, Bri."

Brian used his hand to brush a few strands of hair behind Olivia's ear.

"You know, I got you something, too."

"Yeah? What?"

Brian reached into his pocket and pulled out the purple box. When he pulled the necklace out of the box, Olivia's eyes brightened with fascination. He took the necklace and clasped it around Olivia's neck. Olivia looked at it in awe as she ran her finger over the smooth, heart-shaped metal.

"Bri, it's beautiful. Thank you."

"Look at the back."

Olivia flipped the necklace to look at the other side. When she saw the engraved words, she couldn't help but smile.

"'_Always_'."

"Always."

THE END


End file.
